


Points of Contention

by MLGroves



Category: YuYu Hakusho
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2013-08-04
Packaged: 2017-11-16 10:18:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MLGroves/pseuds/MLGroves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I could just stop," His enemy spoke, voice thick with mockery. "Yes, I can do that. You'll bleed out, but it will give you some time to look back on how you failed." Post-Manga.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The End Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Daniel for editing this prologue.

 

_:: Demon World ::_

Crimson red was the sky. It matched the color of the falling leaves, the clay dirt turned up and disturbed. And the color of Yusuke's blood as it spilled onto the forest floor.  It came in drops and splatters that seemed to litter many places around the clearing that were once undisturbed despite his tries to staunch the flow of blood with his hand. What could have one been a semi-comforting forested area was now a battlefield and, not for the first time in this past year, Yusuke wondered how things had come to this. Hadn't there been a point in time when all things had seemed resolved? Hadn't he once been planning a proper proposal and wedding while taking care of customers from behind a ramen stall counter?

 

Hadn't he once accepted trying to be normal for once? How had things come to this?

 

"Ah, it looks like I may have done something quite damaging that time," he heard the voice talking to him. It was low, mocking, and once had been a voice that Yusuke waved off as acting. Five years ago, that assumption would have been correct. Now it was serious, and the bearer of such a voice had just removed a blade from the ex-Detective’s stomach. "Your guard was off; are you starting to lose hope yet?"

 

Yusuke swallowed, ignoring the taste of blood in his mouth, and grimaced at the masked demon. It was purely ironic that he'd get such a wound from a demon he didn't even notice in the first Demon World Tournament and he almost wanted to laugh at it all just for the sake of that irony. Instead, he hardened his battle-weary eyes and rebelliously stood, despite the pain from his wound and aches in all his limbs. So what if he was mortally wounded? Hadn't he suffered worse before? Besides-

 

"I could just stop, you know..." his enemy spoke, voice thick with mockery. He was like a cat playing with his food. "Yes I can do that. You're going to die either way, and there's nothing you or your supposed King of Spirit World can do to stop me. I've already won what was rightfully mine. You'll still bleed out, but it will give you some time to look back on how you failed.”

 

The words snapped Yusuke's mind back into attention and he growled lowly in his throat. That's right, that's what he was fighting for. He'd suffered worse and besides that, more than just Humans hung in the balance now. All three worlds were at risk and...

 

 

"I think it's time you shut up!" Yusuke roared, baring his teeth. He leaped into action, energy ripping out his body and through the rest of the forest like a massive tornado.  He was through with thinking. He could think about how things came to this later. After he won. After all, he wasn't the only star of this show anymore.

 

_Get this done, Koenma..._ Yusuke thought for the last time before resuming a battle he'd unwittingly started years ago.

 

_:: Spirit World ::_

The floor was cold. George had complained about this many a time when he had to bow low and beg pardons and give reports to King Enma as he sat upon his giant throne. Koenma, once Prince of Spirit World, knew this feeling now. Bending low as high chairs and tables circled about him in the domed room was stifling, bearing down upon him and the seconds ticked by slowly. How long had he been in this position? How much longer would he have to be before this all was over? The members of the council were bent over, speaking heavily amongst themselves, oftentimes looking at the paperwork that had been presented to them and even glancing at the boy who normally took a toddler guise. The amount of stares and silence Koenma had to sit through was starting to drive him crazy. He wanted to yell. _“Make a decision, already!”_

 

Yet, he stayed silent and continued to feel the cold of the floor. Everything hung in the balance here; for all three worlds. He couldn't do to lose his humility now or it might all be lost. Yusuke was fighting for him now, and many others were risking their lives as well. All of it could stop. All of it could be fixed, and here he was, bent low on the cold floor like a servant in order to do it. Hadn't others suffered enough to do things for him? Perhaps it was fate coming back to laugh at him.

 

"Lord Koenma: you may rise." The voice of the eldest member, a graying man with blank eyes broke free from the whispering members seated so high above him and stared down at the ruler. Though blind, Koenma felt as if his very soul was being pierced not for the first time that day, and the icy cold of the floor seemed to transfer into his body.  Numbly, he obeyed, standing to his feet and ignoring the ache in his knees. "The council has reached a decision. Shall we bring in your support or will they stay behind?"

 

The question startled him and he thought back to Botan and Ayame, who were both waiting anxiously in the other rooms, hoping against hope that he'd exit triumphant. "No, that's not necessary," he answered calmly, the exact opposite to how he felt and gave a silent apology to his two Grim Reapers. It was best he handled this part on his own two feet, not theirs.

 

Staring down gravely, the elder nodded and motioned for the rest of the Council to sit around him. "As you wish. Lord Koenma, we members of the Council for Spirit World have reached the unanimous decision on the reinstatement of your father, Lord Enma to the throne and to your future. Are you ready to hear our decision?"

"Yes, I am." He replied just as gravely, with his hands clenched.

 

"Then let us begin."

 


	2. Rewind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Manga: All stories have their endings, but life continues on. For Yusuke Urameshi, life is where he wants it to be, but can't help but feel as if something is just along the bend. Time continues on and past mistakes can often circle in on themselves, but maybe he's not ready for the change this time around as it may put more than just the Human World's weight on his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and all its characters belong to the great Yoshihiro Togashi, Shonen Jump, Funimation and Viz Manga and in no shape or form belong to me. I have no rights and responsibilities towards the characters of Yu Yu Hakusho and get nothing out of it other than yours and my own enjoyment.
> 
> I thought I would never write another Yu Yu Hakusho fanfic ever again, or even finish the old ones that I had up on here. However, thanks to a strong bout of inspiration that I have been fighting off ever since I acquired the final volume of its Manga, I have come back with this story for you all to read. Please note- if you have not read all of the Yu Yu Hakusho MANGA or at least its final Volume, Volume 19, then I suggest you do so. This story follows up after the end of the Yu Yu Hakusho series, but not after the anime. It continues the story that ended in the manga, and yes, the manga and anime do have separate endings. You have been warned.

Yusuke Urameshi was used to being coddled by customers of his ramen stall. In fact, he was even used to their hands just appearing through the steam and grabbing a hold of his collar in earnest when they needed something from him fast. It didn't happen as often as the orders for ramen did, but he became accustomed to it. However, when the tall, blonde, darkly tanned woman serenaded him from his cooking, he didn't even bat an eyelash at the pucker of her lush red lips when she huskily brought her exposed cleavage into view. _It's not like I_ _wouldn't enjoy the view..._ He thought while keeping his eyes plastered on her blue ones.

"I've been told that you're what they call an _exterminator_..." She purred out huskily, leaning over his Ramen counter to give him a better view of her chest. Really, was that low-cut thing supposed to be a shirt? "And that you'll do anything for a... _certain_ price."

Smirking, Yusuke raised a ladle up in good spirits and responded, "That would be me, lady, although I wouldn't technically call it exterminating..." He suddenly found himself even closer against her as she drew him into a hug, firmly placing her bosom against his chest. _Is she trying to distract me?_ The rest of his sentence died on his tongue as her slender arms wrapped around his neck and slowly withdrew the ladle from him with slender fingers to drop it right back into the pot he had been stirring. Yusuke couldn't quite tell if she was purposefully trying to use her assets against him or if she was just that over-dramatic about whatever her problem was.

"I'm glad to hear it!" She chirped happily while keeping herself flush against him. "You see, I have a side business that keeps most of the money running through my home, but lately it's been in shambles! None of my customers have returned in days because of the havoc that's been constantly happening! I'm going crazy!"

"So... you're saying that something is chasing them away?" Yusuke pressed, not really sure what her problem was, minus her lack of customers.

"Yes! Random things appear out of nowhere and hit my customers in the head; noises that shouldn't be there are occurring and a few have seen... _monsters_ lurking around the corners. You can get rid of them, right? That's what I heard, so can't you?" Her voice went down an octave in an attempt to sound near tears and now, the teenager wasn't sure if she really was or if it was a just a facade. Either way, if she did have the money to pay, he would look into it for her; it was a side business after all. That and if she really did start crying, Yusuke wasn't sure his temperament could handle it. With a raised eyebrow from the woman's antics, he slowly disentangled himself from her body and took a small step back to ensure she didn't drag him back into her proximity again. _Geez, glad Keiko wasn't here, she'd throw a fit!_

The woman simpered at his retreat from her and seemed ready to start ensnaring him again with the promise of a nice whine exuding from her red-painted lips. Quite sure he heard enough though, Yusuke waved a hand quickly to silence her and gave a cocky grin to console her. "Doesn't sound like a problem to me, I can probably have that fixed within the next few hours." The relief that flooded her eyes eased the tension in his shoulders and he mentally sighed, thankful she wasn't about to start begging him. She really did look frantic about the whole thing now that he got a better look at her. Her hair looked far more frazzled then it did at a glance and it seemed as if she rushed to put her make up on. The clear sign of dark circles could be clearly seen under her eyes as well. For a brief moment, Yusuke felt sorry for her. "So, where's this place at?"

Blinking at him with a hopeful smile brightening her face, the woman laughed as if she hadn't heard better news in her life and quickly motioned him to follow her. "It's a few blocks down; not far from here at all. I'll show you, if that's alright."

That is how Yusuke found himself at a dank building hidden within an alley, which was obviously used for the desperate lonely man more than for an honest day's work. He could hardly contain the blush that crept up his face as soon as he saw the interior of the apartment as it consisted of silk drapes, feathery beds, mirrors, and what the ex-spirit detective feared to be whips and other odds and ends hidden within a chest against a nearby closet. Gulping nervously, he pulled at the collar of his t-shirt and looked back desperately in the direction of his ramen stand. _Oh man, I should have asked for more information first, I don't want to be here!_ Ignoring the inner thought, Yusuke quickly looked towards the woman with a raised eyebrow, feeling quite hot.

Alana, as she had told him to call her on their way to this awkward moment, didn't seem to notice the awkward stance Yusuke now took as he looked at her nervously. She merely walked into the room, pulled back the shades and let the natural light of the day illuminate the room. It seemed quite clean, considering what Yusuke was positive the place was for by now. In fact, it even smelled clean with the gentle scent of honeysuckle permeating the area. He quickly found its source; a stick of incense burning on the side of a nearby table, and continued his observation of the place. A bathroom had its door swung wide open on the far corner, while the rest of it opened up to a would-be kitchen and dining room. By all rights, the place would have made a decent loft if not for the handcuffs on the- Yusuke immediately diverted his eyes from the kitchen table and glanced back towards Alana, feeling feverish and out of place.

"So... when you said your customers hadn't been coming recently you meant..." He tried to find the right words to say that didn't quite offend her, but the only real words of his language he could come up with were the kinds of words Keiko would slap him over. He was certain this woman wouldn't take kindly to them either. "It's a nice...place?"

"I meant what I said," Alana responded firmly, as if daring him to say otherwise. "I do what I must and I can guess the words many would call me, but to the point, I'm just a simple call-girl." Her eyes challenged him to say something out of line, as if she knew every nook and cranny of the place and was quite sure she could find an item to use on him if he so much as said the other word that was floating around his head. _That's just a nicer way to call herself a..._ He decided it was probably best to erase the thought, lest he accidentally say it out loud and really put himself in a dangerous spot. Clearing his throat and cracking his knuckles, Yusuke decided that his best option was to get this done and over with as quick as possible. His senses were already soaring like a radar. _Definite energy signals here, there's something going on alright..._

"Well, let's get started then." He changed the subject with a nervous chuckle and forced himself to walk further into the room, carefully dodging the strange objects on the ground that he didn't even dare take a closer inspection at. They seemed organized and well in place, but that was as far as Yusuke wanted to notice despite the heated blush that further blossomed on his face. If Alana saw his discomfort, she continued to pretend ignorance towards the fact, which he was quite thankful for. He moved himself towards the kitchen and took a closer look inside and grimaced lightly. "So... I'll guess some of the.. action starts in here?" The amused look on her face forced him to re-phrase his question, " I mean that most of the ghostly activity starts in here, that's all!" Her amused face turned to a full on giggle that left Yusuke really wishing he could pull out his Spirit Gun and blast a hole in the wall to escape.

"You're pretty good." Alana decided to answer him after a few more giggles and pointed towards the bathroom door, " A lot of the shadows and supposed monsters are noticed in here as well and many of the heavier objects have been knocked onto the bed during..." She hastily changed her own wording when Yusuke's face went from red to grossly pale, " ...during sleep." She was looking amused again.

"Yeah...right...got it." Yusuke responded blankly as if his own brain finally short-circuited before a spark of energy sent him reeling back into motion. "Anyway, I think I can get this figured out, so just stay out of the way and I'll handle this in no time!" He didn't bother to see if she followed his orders before he made his way towards the bathroom, where the spark of demonic energy seemed to pull at him the most. Advancing towards the shadows of the room, he briefly heard Alana set herself onto a chair and he relaxed. With that out of the way, it was time to do what he was good at. Moreover, if there was one thing Yusuke knew he was good at, it was this.

 _Hello stranger, the names Yusuke Urameshi, who might you be?_ The cocksure grin that graced his face ensured that whatever tiny specimen of mischief was hiding, it had met it's match. _Now this is my job!_

"Geez, did you really have to hit so hard?" A voice with the squeaking quality of a dog toy rang out through the room and sent Yusuke and Alana's ears ringing. The woman kept her ears covered and Yusuke grit his teeth as he glowered at the demon that now sat upon his knee. It was tied up in what he hoped to be shoelaces. "I mean, I was just having some fun. Have you no respect for females?"

"Yeah, when they're actually girls!" Yusuke ground out as he stared at the tiny, pink fluff that exuded so much energy. _Not even_ _ **close**_ _to what I expected._ The skirmish that had occurred only ten minutes ago was an excursion the ramen shop cook hoped to never relive again, but first he was going to have to chase the ball of fluff out of the loft and hope she decided not to return. It had all started normal enough -normal for him anyway- and ended with him finding a bug-eyed, pink pixie girl covered in just as atrociously colored fluff. With a squeak loud enough to burst any person's eardrums, she had slammed herself into Yusuke's face and had created such a ruckus that the bathroom looked more akin to a child's war zone than anything else. Pink dust littered the walls, the see-through shower curtain had been ripped from its poll and toilet paper littered the floor like party confetti. The chaos had only ended when Yusuke grabbed the small thing by her legs and knocked her into the toilet bowl without a seconds thought. He didn't blame the small thing for being annoyed at becoming the world's first full-body swirly, but did she have to be so loud about it? The pixie in question glared appallingly at him and huffed at his statement.

"Excuse me for not looking like a human female then, jerk!"

"Whatever!" Yusuke snapped, causing the tiny pixie to flinch and close her eyes, "Just tell me what you're doing here already!" With narrowed eyes that scared off many 'so-called' tough guys, the pink little monster didn't seem to know how to respond other than to shiver a bit and look desperately towards the human she had been harassing. Alana, in turn, stared wide-eyed at the pixie and didn't quite seem to know how to react.

"Th-these things are...really real then? I mean... that's just... I just thought... " Her ability to articulate complete sentences had run off for the time being and the pixie quickly tuned her out to look back up at the ex-detective. With a squeak, she realized the glare was still there.

"Fine, fine," The pixie huffed, frowning sourly as she spared another glance towards Yusuke's client. "I just saw her doing her... _job_ a few weeks back and it was... well, it was annoying!" She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue up at Yusuke before continuing. "I thought it was disgusting how they paid her to do all that... _stuff_... and just wanted to show 'em what they deserved, is all! I mean, it was funny to watch 'em run out of this place screaming butt naked!" Snickering, she continued on and on about the many schemes she had used -all for the fact she hated Alana's choice in career- and Yusuke slowly began to ignore her. He wasn't sure if he should _tell_ the small demon that the woman obviously did the job of her own choosing and not by force.

"Umm.. hey.. you know..." He finally managed to say while scratching the back of his head, "that's kind of messing with her job so she can't take care of her life. Don't you think you should go bother someone else now or you know... get your own life?"

"That's easy for you to say! You're a man, you're just as bad as they are!" His glare returned and the pixie almost fell off his knee in fright. "Don't throw me in the toilet again!"

In exasperation, Yusuke sighed and rubbed his eyebrows with his forefinger and thumb and took a glance towards Alana, who had changed her look of shocked wonder to a look of sympathy and slight annoyance. "Look, I don't care about that crap," Yusuke finally muttered under his breath towards the nervous pixie. "But I can't leave here and go back to my own job if you don't agree to leave and not come back, so why don't you hurry up and do that before I send you to the sewers, got it?" The last of his words let the threat pass through when his voice lowered to a menacing growl. "Do we have an understanding?"

The bug-eyes of the demon seemed to bug out even more as she weighed his words and glanced back from him to the glowering Alana. With a huff and a sigh, she wriggled herself in the bindings Yusuke had placed on her and conceded with a depressed frown. "Fine! You don't have to ask me twice- so untie me already!" Yusuke was more than willing to oblige her and once the shoelaces had slipped off, the pixie bounced off his knee, dripping water everywhere and landed promptly on Alana, ignoring the startled shout the girl gave in return. "But you! Get yourself a better job, learn some self-respect; you aren't doing anything good for yourself by just turning yourself into an object! Talk about disgusting!" With those final words, the pixie disappeared in a poof of pink smoke, leaving the ex-detective and client sitting in the middle of the room awkwardly.

"Err...well.. that was... interesting." Yusuke started to say, unsure of how to respond towards the lecture the small pixie had given his client. Alana, in turn, stared at the spot the pixie had just been and blinked stupidly. She nodded her head for a moment before asking quietly if that was the end of it. "Yeah, should be. I don't sense the energy anymore, and if anything else happens I can always come back and do a thorough cleaning about the place, but they don't usually stay after they've been caught once." The ex-detective tried to assure this while at the same time hoping against all odds that he'd never have to set foot in this place again. With a cough, he stood up and began to make his way to the door. "Anyway, now that that's over, I best get going. You can pay me later."

That seemed to jolt the woman out of her stupefied reverie and she quickly leaped to her feet before crossing the room faster than he expected. "Later? Oh, what are you talking about? I was planning on paying you now, silly!"

"I'm pretty sure you don't have cash on you right now," Yusuke reasoned while he tried to open the front door. She slammed her hand onto the entryway- firmly keeping it shut- before he could make his escape and locked onto his eyes. "Seriously, I didn't see a wallet or a purse when you first got me, and I most certainly don't see one now. I'll contact you later for payment." Her proximity made him nervous and he wasn't entirely sure what she was planning at the moment so he tried to keep his words firm and non-negotiable. "Trust me, I do NOT do things without payment, so when I'm sure you can I'll definitely **find** you so don't worry about it, 'kay?"

Alana gave a pretty little pout, one Yusuke was certain had most men melting in their shoes, and moved a strand of her hair back, giving him a nice glimpse of her slender neck. "Oh, but it would be such a hassle for you to have to come find me. What if I didn't have my purse on me then, too?" Her hand delicately slid down off the doorway and towards his arm and ghosted across him in a way that was meant to bring shivers down a man's spine. Yusuke stared numbly instead and seemed almost oblivious to the leg she had smoothly aligned against his, a purr emitting from her throat as she clung to him with her eyes peering into his almond orbs through her thick lashes. "So, perhaps we can discuss a form of different payment?" Melodious undertones gave promise to something quite different from discussion and Yusuke felt his face heat up. This was getting out of hand. _I need to think of something fast!_

Just as his client began a downward movement of her fingers, Yusuke sprang into action. With fluid motions that only a demon could catch, he spun the woman around on her heel, grabbed her hands in his own, and pushed her away into the middle of the room. He made no effort to ensure he was gentle and watched as Alana lost her footing over one of the many objects on her floor and fell with a soft thud while squeaking. His eyes were burning now, all traces of embarrassment and anxiety gone as the glare he had earlier now directed itself squarely into Alana's eyes, and she was feeling it like a block of ice had struck her in the head. Usually he made it a point to not threaten or be rough with his customers, but this woman was really trying her hardest to put him in a rough spot and he refused to allow that to happen. Yusuke quickly spun the doorknob and allowed the door to open a centimeter before letting Alana get another full blast of his glare as he straightened out his shirt and huffed disdainfully at her.

"I... I don't understand..." Alana began hesitantly, shivering under the scowl she was receiving. Yusuke quickly interrupted her.

"What don't you understand? The fact I asked you for payment or the fact I just said no to sex?" He asked icily, his hand gripped the doorknob so tightly that it started to shake and he had to briefly calm himself to ensure he didn't break the door down with the strength most didn't even realize he possessed. "Like you said, you do what you have to do, and so do I, but not once do I ever **recall** accepting sexual favors as a form of payment. You'll pay me the amount you owe eventually - _ **don't think I wont make sure of that**_ \- but until then I suggest you keep your skirt on, give a thought to what that pixie told you, and save yourself some diseases."

The shocked and insulted face Alana gave him was ignored and he quickly whipped the door wide open and stepped through it into the gleaming light of the setting sun. With a final word to her, he struck the nail on the head and made his exit. "I'm not interested in your crap." With that, Yusuke ended another side job for the day and returned to his ramen stall.

Most likely, it would be the most non-awkward part of his day and he surely needed it.

This was the life of Yusuke Urameshi since his return from Demon World two and a half years ago. Life had fallen into a routine that the nineteen year old found himself quite content with. It wasn't something he was used to, being content with something, but he seemed to feel like things were finally falling into place for him. The ramen stall he worked kept the bills paid at his home with his mother, Atsuko, and the side job of helping with supernatural problems around Sarayashiki wasn't too bad of a pick me up on money either. More often than not, he received requests to get autographs from the famous Cult Trio: Koto, Juri and Ruka than to actually settle a dispute between the creatures of the demon plane and humans, but that just made Yusuke feel even more secure in the fact that demons and humans could live together peacefully. In fact, half the people Yusuke saw walking along the streets these days were demons mixed in and his human counterparts didn't seem to even notice the difference. It was a very uplifting thing to see, even if the demons still had to cover up most of their grotesque forms to keep the general populace from freaking out.

However, things were getting a bit more exciting during the day, as many of the demons had slowly begun their trips back home to the Demon World. Enki's reign as Champion of the Demon World Tournament and King was coming to its end and the preparations for the next tournament was already underway. Yusuke kept in contact with Enki despite the gap of dimensions between the two, just to keep track of the excursions going on in the world below and was well aware that many demons were hoping to be the next ruler. The idea he had four years ago seemed to have sprouted a system that all non-human beings found promising and the excitement was boiling over into the realm of the living, despite the obliviousness of most humans. In fact, Yusuke was getting excited himself and was quite positive that he'd be participating once again. There were many scores to settle and it got his blood pumping just to think of a re-match with Yomi once more. Taking a round against Jin and Chu wouldn't be such a bad thing either... _And this time, I'll get it right with Keiko._ The last time he had run off to Demon World, his childhood friend and current girlfriend, Keiko, had dumped him under the impression he would never return. Yet Yusuke had to grin smugly about the whole thing now. With things as they were, he may actually just find a way to bring her with him in order to keep in touch. There would be no romantic drama going on this time.

 _Hiei would probably never let me hear the end of it, if that were the case..._ Yusuke's mind went to his demon friend who chose to stay in the Underworld and laughed lightly as he cooked more ramen up for his customers. He saw many of his friends now that the barrier between worlds was down, but the anti-social demon had managed to keep himself hidden away and was merely a memory at this point in time. Yusuke was positive that would change once the tournament started, as Hiei would never back down out of a challenge and just the thought of what the angry demon would say to cynically make fun of him for his feelings to Keiko made him snicker to himself. He'd heard enough of the teasing remarks from Kurama and Kuwabara for the past two years, there's no way the short-tempered demon would get at him now.

"Hey, Yusuke! Fill me up another bowl would you?"

"Coming right up!" Yusuke answered the burly customer sitting in his stall, quickly pulling himself out of his thoughts. If he lost track of his attention now, the ramen might burn and that would be bad for business. Filling up another bowl with the hot noodles, the customer gladly accepted it with a tip and compliments as Yusuke filled more bowls for the ones that took their seats in his stall. It was a good evening for business, with the sunset gleaming across the rooftops and the sweet smell of noodles wafting about the street. The brunette with the slick-backed hair couldn't help but smile and feel that things could only get better. Filling up more bowls and accepting more tips, Yusuke continued his work well into the night, knowing that Keiko and Kuwabara would show up at the end of his night to walk with him back home. It had become a part of his new routine, and he wouldn't have had it any other way.

_For once... life is going my way._

As the night continued, the ex-detective merely ignored the small feeling that bubbled up in the pit of his gut, shoving aside the main thought that kept his spirits up.

_Is it just waiting to screw me over again?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Thanks to Daniel and InuKagomeLuver4Eva for editing this chapter and for the hopeful future edits that they will make on its future updates.


	3. The Ball Drops

_:: Spirit World ::_

"Sir...? Koenma, sir?"

Papers rustled and the pounding of a stamp resounded off the desk Ayame had her eyes fixated on. Paper after paper after paper continued its path across the table and under the hand that stamped it and still no response acknowledged that the black cloaked Grim Reaper had even spoken. The Prince of the Spirit world was just as locked into his repetitive roll of stamping important files as she was in trying to get his attention, but her reserve kept the woman from doing anything too drastic. Instead, she watched for a little longer as the leader in the form of a toddler seemed to sag further into his work until a sigh escaped him in mid stamping. Ayame took this moment as her cue to speak up again.

He didn't even twitch. Was she talking too quietly? The idea was dismissed, that couldn't be it- he always heard her despite the light tone she used. Fidgeting lightly with her pale hands gripping the folds of her kimono, Ayame tried again only to have the words die down in her throat. Koenma's head seemed to lull as if it had gained a sudden weight and the papers stopped moving. A fraction of a second later, he fell face-forward onto the desk, eyes closed and body clearly drained of energy.

"Koenma, sir!" With a flurry of feet and flutter of fabric, Ayame rushed to the side of her employer and grabbed him by the shoulders to roughly shake him. "Koenma sir, are you alright?" Another shake finally gained a low groan from the Spirit World leader and he muttered inaudibly under his breath, dropping the blue mafukan out of his mouth in the process. With another shake, he jolted up, hat nearly falling off his head as he took a sharp intake of breath and glanced around in shock. "K...Koenma, sir? You are alright, aren't you?" Ayame prodded him once more as her hands gently held him straight by his tiny shoulders and waited for him regain his bearings.

"Y-yes, why wouldn't I be fine?" The ruler said in response, his head in a daze as he struggled to figure out what happened during the last few moments. After taking a few short breaths, he seemed to finally understand the current situation and took a glance towards the nimble, pale fingers that graced his shoulders with a raised eyebrow. "Did you need something, Ayame?"

As if she had been shocked, the docile Grim Reaper removed her fingers and cast her eyes downward apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir, but I was trying to figure out when you had last taken a break."

The Lord of the Spirit World blinked before he let out a laughing bellow that sounded deep in his chest. "Don't be silly Ayame, I've had enough breaks to keep on working and I haven't overworked myself."

"Really, my Lord?" Though her voice was quiet, the firmness of her words did not hide the fact she did not believe him. He merely waved her off with a guilty grin.

"I am completely fine, you don't need to check up on me!"

"With all due respect, Koenma, sir," Ayame began, voice finally getting a small, reprimanding bite to it. "But when I first asked, you didn't even hear me and then you just passed out on your desk. If I didn't check up on you, you probably would have drooled all over your papers." The new Spirit World ruler flushed and glanced down towards his stamp stick and promptly fell silent. Ayame took this as a point on her side and decided she may be permitted to continue with her impudence. "I'm only worried about you, Koenma, sir. I know that things must be stressful with trying to get the Chancellors to accept you as the new King Enma since … well, since your Father was locked away." Great, now she felt guilty for bringing it up and the flinch that came from her boss only made her feel worse. "Th...Well, the point is sir, you shouldn't overstress yourself, and you'd just prove them right. You should take a break."

Koenma didn't take his eyes from his desk and fidgeted with his miniscule fingers, "I shouldn't, should I? Was that all Ayame?"

The pale Grim Reaper felt blood rush to her cheeks as she muttered lightly under her breath, "I.. I don't want you to, either." Her own embarrassment kept her from seeing her ruler turn a couple shades of red as well and she promptly fiddled with the hems of her sleeves again. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have presumed..."

To her surprise, he cut her off with a glance, his sharp eyes resembling his elder form and said, "No need to apologize, Ayame. You're correct, I really should take a break."

She sighed in relief, happy to know her Lord was finally seeing reason. Bowing gracefully, Ayame stepped back to allow Koenma room to hop out of his chair. His landing seemed forced as he held back a wobble. She held back reaching out for him once more as she knew he'd only wave her off again. Overworked or not, he was always so independent. Letting him walk by, her dark eyes followed his small form as he walked out towards his balcony, shoulders already drooping. His exhaustion was obvious to everyone but him. She bit her lip, wondering if she should follow just in case.

"Ayame."

She jolted out of her reverie to see the small lord glancing back at her, a question in his eyes. "Y-yes, sir?"

"Are you coming or not? I assumed you wanted to keep me company." He stated pointedly, causing her ears to slightly go red.

The embarrassment tumbling about in her stomach did not deter her from responding. "O-of course, sir!" Hurriedly, she moved to catch up with him not even caring that he had already begun to walk outside again.

Being out on the balcony of Koenma's office was very much the same as standing atop the peek of a mountain. From there you could see for miles and the sheer expanse of Spirit World was a marvelous sight to behold. It's many colored clouds and even a glimpse of the River Styx below was enough to take anyone's breath away. Ayame, used to this view, kept her eyes on her soon to be King instead, watching as he stared out across the horizon and sighed. The shine in his eyes was rather dull and she bit the bottom of her lip in worry. He really needed to get some more sleep.

They stood out there in silence, taking in the breathtaking view. Koenma, probably lost in thought, saw no reason to start conversation. The quiet grim reaper was too shy to know what else needed to be said. However, the recess from work and the fresh air seemed to already start doing wonders towards the tense muscles in Koenma's shoulders as he took deep breaths and relaxed slowly. It was good to get him away from his desk every once and awhile. Ayame figured she should start a routine of forcing him outside every few hours or so. Perhaps with enough coaxing, she could get him to go to bed early for once as well. No work he was putting on himself could be good for his health, especially with the Chancellors breathing down his neck at every waking hour. She gasped quietly, feeling her own nails bite into the skin of her palms at the sudden surge of anger that ran through her.

It just wasn't fair, she thought while watching Koenma take a few more deep breaths, closing his eyes to just listen to the wind. _It's not fair at all. Lord Koenma shouldn't have to try so hard!_

The anger she felt simmered beneath her skin as she struggled to hold back a frustrated growl. It wasn't like her to make such outbursts and she refused to start now. Chewing on her lip, she looked around for something else to think about.

"Ayame, stop biting your lip so much before you pierce it." The biting words from her superior pulled her out of her thoughts once again and she blinked in confusion at the Lord who barely reached her knees. He was staring at her, jaw clenched around the blue weapon in his mouth and eyes narrowed in annoyance. Immediately, she rung her hands together and bowed her head shamefully.

"I'm so-" She began to apologize, but was quickly interrupted by him raising a hand.

"Do not apologize. I understand you're worried." He said softly, looking almost guilty. It made her want to apologize even more. "I should be thanking you, being hunched over like that was really starting to put a crick in my neck." As if to emphasize his point, he tilted his head slightly and allowed a loud pop to crack down his spine. Ayame winced just hearing it, but he didn't seem to mind it in the slightest.

"Sir," She started, wondering if she should say anything at all, but feeling that she had to try. "Perhaps you should consider retiring early to-"

"SIR! KOENMA, SIR!"

She was interrupted again, but the harried tones of the blue Ogre running onto the balcony was enough to cool off whatever anger had been boiling under her skin as she and Koenma both glanced towards the entryway in confusion. George, rushed as usual and panting heavily, waved a paper in the air and gasped. It was clear that he had been running for quite some time to get there and the sweat dripped off his nose with each agonizing breath he took. Bent over and placing his hands on his knees, he wheezed for air once more, repeating the Spirit World Prince's name over and over again as if it were a chant.

"George, what is it? Can't you see I was in the middle of something?" He snapped in frustration and Ayame blinked at him. In the middle of what? As far as she knew, they were only talking. She filed that thought away to puzzle over later and kept her eyes on the ogre, feeling a strange pool of dread squirm in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm sorry Koenma, sir, but this is important!" He finally gasped out, stepping closer to them and holding the paper out. "It's a message from Enki in the Demon World!"

"What? Why am I receiving messages from there?" It was a good question. Those of the Demon World made it a point to not converse with anyone related to the Spirit World, let alone message the would-be King himself. Unfolding the paper quickly, Koenma's eyes skimmed over it rapidly. "Is it an ultimatum? Have demons stopped listening to Enki's orders? Should I put the barrier back up?" The rush of questions running from his mouth would have been enough to make Ayame giggle if the fear boiling up in the back of her throat wasn't keeping her quiet. Something told her it wasn't so simple as that. If it had been, King Enma wouldn't be in jail right now and Koenma wouldn't be so exhausted.

Ayame bit her lip again. She really needed to stop thinking about that. Koenma's mumblings had died off as he perused the paper, hands slightly shaking with each passing second that went by. The bottomless pit of dread only intensified. At that moment, as he slowly crinkled the paper in his hand and glanced up towards George, everything went quiet. Deathly silent. She couldn't even hear the wind blowing behind them over the entire realm of the Spirit World. There was nothing, but the concerned look in his eye as he weighed his options.

"George, bring Botan to me." He ordered, passing the paper to Ayame without even a glance towards her. She accepted it and held the note against her chest, wondering what it was to have him suddenly so stiff. "I'm going to have to send her to Yusuke as soon as possible."

"To.. Yusuke, sir?" The blue Ogre voiced the very same confusion that flitted through Ayame's brain. "Sir, he doesn't work for you anymore, what could you possibly want from-"

"Stop asking questions, George, and just **do it!** " Koenma barked. Ayame and George both jumped at the suddenness of his raised voice and the Ogre quickly spun himself around and high-tailed it off of the balcony. Immediately, the pint-sized ruler began pacing and muttering under his breath, his eyes locked onto the floor. He was oblivious that the silent reaper was still watching him

She wanted to grab his attention, to try and calm him and ask what had happened, but the force of his voice and worry that now ran through his every monosyllable made her think better of it. Instead, she slowly glanced down towards the crumpled letter and gently opened it up to read it herself.

Her heart stopped the moment she read the very first paragraph:

_I'm not entirely sure what the proper procedures are in writing a letter from one royal to another, but Koko swears to me that I have to make it official. I don't know if I'm doing this right or not, but I doubt it really matters in the end. Either way, I have bad news that I think may affect your throne and mine, Koenma. So please, I would appreciate if you take heed to my words._

_I don't have proof, but the instincts of a demon do not lie and quite frankly, I can feel it in my bones. Someone is going to come after me soon. In addition, I have a strong feeling that this might include you as well. A lot of strong demons have been going missing recently and it has been worrying me. Something's about to happen, I'm just not sure what._

_I'm sending this letter to warn you. I'm afraid if I can't find the answer soon, I might be the next one on the chopping block and if I'm taken out before the tournament, who knows what will happen._

_Be careful little Lord!_

_Enki, King of Demon World._

_P.S. Any tips on what to do the next time I write a letter like this? I don't want Koko beating me in a drunken rage if I did this wrong; just asking._

_:: Human World ::_

Yusuke was not happy. In fact, he was positively steaming.

There was no way he would admit to the fact that his ire came from a pink-clad Grim Reaper who yelled _bingo!_ whenever he said something right. Especially when the Grim Reaper had just witnessed him shrieking like a little girl and flopping like a fish on the floor directly after having jumped out of his bed in shock. Her face alone shone her amusement at his surprised floundering. So what if she had been knocking on his 12th story window for several minutes, trying to wake him. It wasn't his fault! He was having a good dream, how dare she interrupt it and scare the living sh-

Scare? Oh, no, no, Yusuke Urameshi does _not_ get scared. He crossed his arms and glared at the girl who was now sitting across from him in his room, smiling innocently. No, he was not happy at all. _I bet all I'll get is a nightmare when I go back to sleep now,_ he thought grumpily, _that is, if I can actually get back to sleep._ Growling lightly, he glowered fiercely at her, deadly silent as his Spirit World friend laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry Yusuke, but you couldn't have expected me to just fly through a shut window." The brightly colored reaper reasoned softly, trying to hold back a burst of giggles that only intensified his ire. His hair was sticking out every which way and his pajama shirt was crooked across his torso. Add to the fact that his bed sheets had been flung every which way and that even his toes were flexing out his aggravation, Botan couldn't help but laugh. He just looked too funny!

"Yeah well, you could have come to see me at a better time. You know, a little something called **daytime**? Yeah, that probably would have been better." The ex-detective grumped, still glaring daggers at her. If she had been anyone else, a stranger perhaps, it would have worked in terrifying her. However, she just giggled again, and managed to somehow make it sound apologetic, which slightly mollified him.

Waving a hand at him, Botan finally gained control of her giggles and let out a sigh. "I'll say it again, I'm sorry, but I didn't have time. Lord Koenma told me to get here as fast as I could and ordered me to **not** wait."

Yawning, Yusuke scratched the back of his head and slumped. Just what was so important that she had to come this late at night and not let him sleep? He voiced the question during a second yawn that escaped him and he fought the urge to stretch and crawl back under his covers. He already knew it would have been futile to try and go back to sleep with the bubbly harpy there to rouse him. After his question, the solemn look that graced the girl's features struck him like a bucket of ice water, quickly sending his irritation out the window. Since when was the last time he'd seen her look like that? He racked through his thoughts to remember and frowned when the only thing he could come up with was during the last Demon World Tournament.

"What's the matter, Botan?" He asked, finally letting the gravity of her countenance pull him to being serious. "You're tense, did something happen in the Spirit World?"

"Well...not technically," She hedged, letting another nervous laugh escape her.

"You weren't fired, were you?" The monotone of his voice struck her like a slap and her jaw dropped.

"No! Of course not, you moron, this is far more serious then that!" She shouted, wincing when she remembered that Atsuko was probably in the other room trying to sleep. Yusuke just rolled his eyes and tilted his head at her curiously.

"Don't worry so much, Ma went out for a party three days ago and hasn't come back yet." Botan relaxed at his words for a moment, glad to know she hadn't woken anyone with her shout, but frowned again when his words translated themselves in her mind. Should she really be glad to know his mother was out on another bender? She was about to say something about that when Yusuke snapped at her again, "I said quit worrying, now tell me what's going on so I can go back to sleep already!"

Twirling her fingers nervously, Botan conceded to the point and steeled herself to keep focus. "Alright, alright, from what I can tell it's nothing too dangerous, yet, but Koenma wants you to be extra careful for awhile. He needs you to not be reckless be-" She was interrupted.

"He does realize I don't work for him anymore, right?" Yusuke asked sardonically.

"Of course he does!" She snapped, glaring at him full force to make him shut up. "This isn't about you doing work for him! Geez, can't you be quiet for a second so I can actually talk?" The raise of his eyebrow was enough for her to realize that he was waiting for her to stop griping and she snarled lightly. "Urgh, it doesn't matter how much older you get, you're still infuriating! Anyway, he wants you to not be reckless because he received a message from Enki warning him that a lot of demons are going missing. They're all strong contenders for the Demon Tournament."

Yusuke's back straightened and he stared at her. "You mean to tell me some guy has been taking out the competition before it's even started?" She nodded her head and he punched his mattress in annoyance. "What a crock! I mean, where is the fun in that?"

"You're seriously more annoyed by the fact it wont be fun than the fact that someone could very well be assassinating people?" Botan growled again when Yusuke waved off her question, but continued. "It gets worse then that- Enki fears that something might happen to him soon, he's even worried that Koenma is in danger!"

"Okay...that makes no sense." Yusuke replied, crossing his arms again and trying to think about the connections towards the Demon World and Spirit World. "What would Koenma have to do with the Demon World throne? As long as the Demon's aren't causing problems in Human World, shouldn't his job be easy?"

She nodded her head and stood up with a sigh. "That's what I thought, but Enki's letter didn't explain much else, so we don't know what to think." Pacing, she gnawed her bottom lip for a few seconds, ignoring the insufferable yawns the teenager was acting out in a way to make her feel guilty. Botan didn't let it affect her. She was pilot of the River Styx for crying out loud and this was serious business! There was no way she'd let him make her feel guilty for doing her job. "It really doesn't make any sense, but nonetheless, Koenma wants you to be on the look out. It wouldn't be good if you ended up a target as well, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, I figured as much." He waved her off again with a roll of his eyes. "Not like I'm the tournament coordinator or one of the strongest guys out there since Raizen's death or anything."

"Yusuke, you're not _invincible-_ "

The loud ringing of the telephone stopped her in mid-rant and Yusuke glared daggers at the contraption vibrating on his headboard. What was it with everyone trying to get a hold of him at three in the morning? It was downright annoying! Swiping the cordless into his hands, he quickly brought it up to his ear and growled into the receiver.

"Whoever you are, you best be dying or I'm hanging up." He snapped, waiting for an answer. The response was crackled, hard to hear as if coming from a long distance, but it was hard to not recognize the cries coming through as anything else except for sobbing. "Hey, who is this?" Worriedly, he glanced towards his caller I.D.

It was unknown, but the voice hiccuped and through blubbering tears finally responded to him, "L-listen you li-little brat, I don't have t-time for your lip! Even if you're Raizen's k-kid!" The crying continued and Yusuke had to pull his ear away from the receiver to keep the loud bawling from bursting an eardrum. Ice seemed to be flowing through his blood now as he recognized who was on the other end finally.

"Koko?" He asked, bewildered. "Is that you? What the hell happened?" Another hiccup answered him and he waited in earnest for a response. The woman being drunk wasn't anything new to him, but he hadn't heard her cry like this since his ancestral Dad had died, just what in the world was going on here? "Hey, stop sobbing you old bitty and tell me what happened already!" On any other day he would have thought twice before calling that demonic women an insult, but right now he really needed to distract her.

The sobbing stopped and was replaced by a growl, Yusuke had to hold back a grin as his ploy worked. "Don't you dare call me old, kid, I wont hesitate to knock you-..knock you..." his triumph ended quickly as she fell back into sobs once more. "Oh it's horrible! Kid, you have to come down here immediately, I don't know what to-to... I don't... Brat, just get your ass back down here before my head explodes! God I need another drink..."

Her voice almost went out from the static in the phone and Yusuke struggled to catch her confusing words. It was always like this when he received a call from the Demon World. He really needed Kurama to find a way to fix that little problem. "Okay, I can tell something happened, but I need you to tell me what that is before I just up and head down there, okay?" He lowered his voice trying to sound calm for her sake, but his fingers were shaking. Just what was going on?

"Can't you tell?" She wailed and Yusuke was certain the banging sound from the other end was nothing but her punching a wall with each word she spoke. "It's Enki! He's dead! **DEAD**!" Yusuke dropped the phone and it clattered loudly against the floor.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to InuKagomeLuver4Eva for editing this chapter.


	4. Fill It In

_:: Human World::_

            The phone was ringing off the hook.

 

            **Beep! Hey there, this is Atsuko speaking- I’m currently out right now so obviously I can’t answer the phone how-**

“Yusuke, it’s Keiko again. You better not be ignoring the phone to get out of our date today!” The message was cut off prematurely by another phone slamming down onto the receiver and Keiko Yukimura growled. This had been her fifth attempt at calling the Urameshi household and the answering machine was really starting to try at her nerves. She’d already heard the message completely through more times than her morning was willing to allow and she was half convinced it was picking up now just to mock her.

 

            **_However if you’re trying to get a hold of Yusuke, he’s probably just ignoring you- sorry. I’ll call you back!_ **  Her mind supplied the rest of the message again and she let out an angry huff. Now was NOT the time for him to be ignoring the phone! She rubbed her temples and let her head drop to her desk in aggravation. He’d been doing so much better at answering the phone lately too, she wondered what could be keeping him from it now. Other than the fact he usually hated the phone before noon. He could be such a lazy jerk sometimes.

 

            “Yusuke, this better be good for you to not be answering the phone of all days.” She grumbled before finally pushing herself away from her desk and grabbing her purse. She hadn’t started college yet so the days were starting to get boring now that she was out of high school. Today was supposed to be a day just for her and Yusuke to spend time together. He had even promised to close the ramen stall for a day!  She let out another growl and instead decided she’d just meet up with some of her other school girlfriends and see if they were up to anything.

 

            Sparing one last glance towards the phone on her desk, she bit back an annoyed snarl and swore that if he didn’t have a good excuse for dodging their date _this_ time, then she was definitely going to box his ears in.

 

            “And he said he’s grown out of that stupid habit!” She groused again before slamming the door shut behind her. Sometimes, she wondered why she still bothered with the goof.

 

_::Demon World::_

 

 

 

            If a certain goof hadn’t already been sitting inside the Cliffside house of a Demon King, he probably would have felt chills run down his spine in fear of some unknown danger to his person. However, being as he was inside that certain Cliffside house, he was more concerned with the rushing demon servants around him that were cleaning debris off the floor, the sniffling woman in the chair across from him and the gigantic hole that gaped from the right side of a mountain and directly into the building.  It was rather distracting, all things considered.

 

            It had only taken him a few minutes to drop the phone and dress himself properly before leaving his house that night. Botan had returned to Spirit World to inform Koenma of the call and that left him plenty of time to rush towards the old compound in the woods where the portal to Demon World set itself and by the time he had reached the Purple Skies of the Underworld, it wasn’t even sunrise yet. He took the rest of the time to run through the lands of Demon World towards the house of Enki, where Koko was waiting for him. By the time he had reached the dwelling, Koko had managed the surprising feet of sobering herself, allowed him into the home and promptly broke down crying again as soon as the destructive hole that made up her bedroom had been shown to him.

 

            The time hadn’t even reached noon and Yusuke almost considered stealing a drink out of Koko’s canteen just to ease off the headache. He glanced at the crying woman in front of him and assessed the damages from his seat. He had tried earlier to explore, but she was adamant about him waiting until she calmed down enough to take him around herself and the blonde demon could be quite scary when you went against her wishes. Yusuke didn’t wish to invoke that, not just yet anyway.

 

            He had _some_ semblance of survival instincts, after all.

 

            So instead, he cleared his throat and tried to get her attention while glancing around. “So… the place... looks good, all things considering.” Which was true as the road to her home looked well-traveled, the house itself was immaculate and clean except for important papers being strewn over every desk and Koko herself looked as if she’d been treated well as the wife of a king.  At first glance, Yusuke couldn’t even tell that something terrible had attacked Enki- until he was led to the back of the house where the gigantic hole had been shown to him.

 

            Any mention of this gaping hole however, sent her into more fits of despair. She didn’t even acknowledge his compliment towards her home and let another wave of shudders rack her body. Koko had been slumped over ever since she broke down in front of him and he was finding it more and more awkward to say anything at all. He hated dealing with crying women, he never knew what to say without freaking out at them, himself. He glanced towards his hands and grimaced, he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d last before he snapped.

 

            He tried again, “And umm, you… “ He grasped at straws mentally, “I see you changed your curtains since the last time I was here, looks nice…”  Her lack of response and the looks he received from some of the other demons cleaning up the place was enough to make him slump over as well. So maybe that wasn’t the brightest thing in the world to say, but what else was he supposed to do?

 

            Koko let out another wailing sob and a round of coughs echoed after. It made Yusuke wince and grind his teeth together. _Okay, that’s it. I’m no Kurama, so I certainly don’t know a damn thing about what to do in these situations and I’m going to stop **attempting** to be diplomatic here!_ He stood up with a growl, grabbed the woman by her shoulders and promptly shook her. “Look Koko, I came here to _help_ but I can’t do that if you’re too busy crying to let me do anything! So calm down you old biddy, and start telling me what happened!”

 

            Later, he’ll realize that was probably the best thing he could have said to her, but the direct moment lead him to seriously question his life choices. No sooner had he finished yelling did he suddenly find himself flipped to the floor with an angry blonde demon snarling at him. Her claws dug into his arms and her eyes glowed brightly and for the moment, he almost feared getting eaten, but-

 

            “Who are you calling an **_old biddy_** , you brat!?” She growled, fingers easing up only slightly as she released him, Yusuke, never being tactful, growled right back and promptly forced her off of him the second he had a chance to kick his legs at her. He missed, as she wasn’t stupid enough to think he wouldn’t try something, but she did jump back allowing him space to stand up and dust himself off.

 

            “Since you’re the only old bitch in the room, obviously I meant you.” He snapped back, hardly repentant. For a brief moment, he felt a pang of sadness when he briefly recalled the old arguments he had with his teacher, Genkai. How often had he called her old biddy before she smacked him around while letting him know just how much of a dimwit he was? She’d been dead for over a year now and the banter squeezed at him for a moment. Shrugging it off, he shook his head at the grieving woman and sighed, “Look, I understand you managed to sober yourself up for this, but I seriously can’t stand the pity party right now, so can you save it for after I’m gone?”

 

            He almost though she was going to send him into the floor again as her muscles tensed while her fingers flexed. Instead, she took a few deep breaths before relaxing and ran her fingers through her hair to calm herself. Yusuke had to applaud himself for that one; finally he was getting somewhere. Koko, sensing his feel of accomplishment, scoffed lightly before sitting herself back down and sighing as well.

 

            “Sorry kid, you know how I get when these things happen. How long did I cry when Raizen died?” The question was her only apology to tossing him and it was enough. Sitting back down as well, Yusuke smirked at her.

 

            “I believe even that mountain sized energy blast you and your friends sent into the air didn’t even stop you until a few days later.” He replied, still grinning when she let out a choking laugh.

 

            “Yeah, Enki didn’t even get mad at me for calling him worthless compared to that old man of yours.” She shook her head and glanced towards her once bedroom and sniffed. “Alright kid, let’s get this over with before I run out and destroy a few forests to make myself feel better.”

 

            “Why didn’t you do that before I got here?”

 

            “Shut up, I was trying to sober up, brat.”

 

            Another memory of Genkai sprang up in his mind and he shook his head to clear it. “If you say so. Why don’t you just start at the beginning? You really sucked at explaining yourself over the phone earlier and I’m still not even sure what’s happening.” The real question he wanted to ask was left hanging in the air, but he was positive she knew what he wasn’t willing to ask just yet. **How could someone kill Enki?**

 

            She sighed and eyed her gigantic canteen almost longingly and gulped. “We had an argument last night.” She began and didn’t even pause when Yusuke rolled his eyes. “Not a big surprise, I know. I’m always starting something with him- it’s the generalization of our relationship after all, but anyway, I can’t even remember what we were arguing about anymore, but I was mad enough to leave the house in order to blow off some steam.”

 

            “With the amount you drink,” Yusuke interrupted snarkily, “I’m not surprised you don’t remember.” The glare she sent him was enough to make him backpedal, “I mean, uh, how did you blow off steam?”

 

            “Did you see the crater on your way here?” She deadpanned and Yusuke gaped.

 

            “That big, gaping hole just twenty miles out from here? That was **_you_**?”

 

            “I said blow off some steam, not blow up my house, of course that was me!” She snapped. Yusuke let out a low whistle. Sometimes, he forgot that demons had a different way of doing things then on Earth. Maybe that was why he liked them so much- he probably would have done that too. Or at least, he would have wanted to. Trying that out back home would have raised too many questions, though.

 

            “Okay, fair enough, I guess.” He waved her on to continue and she glowered at him.

 

            “Yes, I blew off steam,” She repeated and slightly shuddered again. “After a couple hours of drunken brawling with myself, I finally decided to come home and like what you say, it seemed perfectly normal at first. That is, until I came inside and noticed my bedroom had been blown out. I checked the room and didn’t see anything except for the roof on the floor and…Enki…. underneath it.” Her teeth chattered as she struggled to say the last bit and she let out another sob.

 

            “Okay, what else?” He urged her to continue before she broke down again.

 

            “Shut up, I’m getting there,” She hissed before hiccupping. “I pulled him out of the rubble and he… well.. naturally, I assumed he was dead, I mean, he was stiff as a board and not breathing so I-“

 

            Yusuke couldn’t help himself when he interrupted this time, “Hold on, you **_assumed_**? You told me he **was**!” He had to withhold the urge to stand up and look for the King himself at that point.

 

            Koko actually managed to look somewhat sheepish at that and coughed a little to cover it up, “Yes well, I flipped out and still thought he was when I called you! He’s in bed now and his energy wavelength is still there so obviously I was wrong.” She glanced back to the rubble and sighed, “Not that it does me any good. I can’t find anything to give a hint towards who did it and how, but he’s still stiff as a board.  I have him in bed right now and have sent for some demons with actual medical knowledge to look in on him. They haven’t arrived yet, so I’m not sure if he’s going to last…”

 

            At this point, Yusuke figured he had enough information and stood up again. “Well, if his energy is still going strong, then that’s a good sign. You just sit tight, I’m going to see if I can find anything that you may have looked over.” Koko looked as if she was about to snarl again, but he held up a hand to placate her, “not saying that you’re not good enough to notice stuff yourself, but he is your husband, you could have missed something while you were freaking out.” The complaint she had at the ready was silenced and she nodded her head. Yusuke took that as permission to go on ahead and strode towards the demolished bedroom.

 

            She wasn’t kidding about the destruction that was for sure. The gaping hole was even larger in the bedroom, as it dug itself through the interior of the mountain the house had been built into and beyond. Yusuke could just barely make out the light at the other end of the mountain as a tiny speck and whistled lowly. Whoever did this, really out did themselves with that kind of digging. He briefly considered jokingly asking Koko if it was just a very bad case of mole infestation, but decided against it. He really didn’t need to push her into actually trying to castrate him out of cheekiness.

 

            The place had been slightly cleaned up, with the debris brushed aside to the corners of the room to make space for walking, yet there was no sign of an actually scuffle in the room. Not even claw marks on the floor or blood spatters. Yusuke had to admit, it was slightly eerie to just see a gigantic hole and then the supposed strongest Demon out cold with no other signs to declare what had actually been done to him. The King of Demons just slept peacefully on the gigantic bed in the center of the room, his bulging stomach making a semi mountain itself out of the covers while his red head poked out just above the over-fluffed pillows. If Yusuke hadn’t known any better, he’d just say the guy had way too many sleeping pills and couldn’t get himself up for the life of him.

 

            He walked towards the sleeping figure and crinkled his nose at him. Even Enki’s face looked just fine, the arms that were out of the blankets had no hint of bruising and his energy didn’t give any sign towards where a wound might be. Yusuke had to admit, he was rather stumped. How in the hell could someone have done this without even leaving a hint of energy behind? The gaping hole was the only clue and that only told him that what he was dealing with was strong. Which wasn’t helpful as most demons with the ability to take out the Demon King had to be strong, or at least stupidly smart so it hardly left him with anything to go by.

 

            That was when a message from a certain Grim Reaper sprung to mind, _demons have been going missing…_ Well, if demons were going missing before the next Demon Tournament was to start, and the current King was almost taken out as well, Yusuke frowned. Someone was trying to set it up so that Enki couldn’t win again and serve another term as ruler.  The gears were running in his head now and it started to make sense, with less competition, it would be easier for others to win, or, not even have a tournament in the first place, but then how would a King be chosen? Yusuke groaned as a slight headache began to form right behind his eyes and he sat himself at the foot of Enki’s bed.

 

            “You best wake up, big guy.” He muttered affectionately while sighing, “Because I don’t think I can figure this out without you telling me who attacked you at this point.” No signs of who was here, no energy signature but Enki’s. He’d have to spend more time in Demon World if he was to figure anything out and fix it, as he definitely wasn’t going to pass the information along for someone else to figure out. No, it was best if he dealt with it like he’d done with everything else in his life.

 

            With mind made up, he left the room to see Koko again.

 

            She was mindfully re-organizing a stack of important papers when he entered the main hall again. With Enki out, she was most likely aware that all the duties the King had were now going to be on her shoulders- if she hadn’t already been dealing with most of them for her husband.  It was probably a good way to keep her mind focused, Yusuke figured as he watched her set up another stack together and filed them away. She glanced up at him when he was close enough to hear her speak in a whisper and gave him a blank look of desolation.

 

            “You couldn’t find anything either.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement and Yusuke had to look down to keep from guiltily apologizing to her for some failure that wasn’t his fault.

 

            Instead, he said quickly, “I’m heading back to Human World.”

 

            The blank look she had been giving him flashed to something akin to anger as she asked with a hint of acid, “Giving up?”

 

            He let the accusing tone in her voice slide as he looked up at the ceiling. “If I’m going to stay down here long enough to figure everything out, I’m going to need someone to watch over my Ramen Stand for me.”

 

            The look of hope that suddenly kindled made Yusuke’s lungs clench slightly. She nodded her head and let out a watery smile at him. “I guess I’ll use the time to clear up a guest bedroom for you then… are there other things you need to do as well?”

 

            Smirking, he said with a defeated tone in his voice, “Yeah, I’ll also have to make sure my fiancé doesn’t call off the engagement while I’m gone too. I already missed a date today and she’s scary when she’s mad.” Yusuke couldn’t help the smile that sprung up when Koko flung her head back and promptly began laughing. Yeah, things would turn out okay, for her at least.  _I've just got to keep on hoping._ He thought to himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to InuKagsluver4eva for editing this chapter.


	5. Preparations Part 1

If it hadn't been for the many times that Yusuke had to do this, he would have been shocked by the amount of ease it took to tell his mother that he would be gone for an unknown amount of months. Returning to the human realm to prepare for his second extensive stay in the Demon World was something he dreaded and he hoped the rest of his preparations would be as easy as convincing Atsuko that he was going to be completely fine despite trying to solve an attempted murder.

"I thought you were done with that." She had stated, at first, slightly skeptical and irritated. She hadn't had her first bottle of liquor yet and it had left her in a very foul mood. Yusuke was well aware her habits of excessive drinking were not dying off anytime soon and took it in stride.

"Some things came up- can you make sure all my tabs are paid?"

Ever since he had started his gig at the ramen stall, including his more questionable job, things had been much easier between him and Atsuko. She was surprisingly good for bringing customers in and never failed to help him out if he had a problem customer. In fact, Yusuke was quite sure he didn't even want to know how she got half his tabs paid in full for the most part. The sadistic grin that would spread across her face just at the prospect of forcing others to "pay up" was more than enough to give him an idea, and he didn't want to get involved any more than he already was.

"Who's not payin' ya this time," She'd asked, eyes almost gleaming at the prospect. It was easy enough to fill her in on the details towards the call-girl, Alana and of the location towards her back alley. In fact, the information surprised her at first.

"Tch- of course you'd have problem with a whore." She muttered as she grabbed her phone to dial in a few numbers. "I'll keep watch on her and get ya' what she owes, but you just have to come back in one piece, do you understand me?"

Though she had asked it in the form of a question, Yusuke knew it for what it actually was a pleading demand. Atsuko had failed him as a mother many times in his life, but he well knew that she would be devastated if something ever truly fatal happened to him. He could see it in her eyes every time he set out to do something that might even remotely end in violence, so he wasn't surprised by it when she had asked it. He flashed his signature grin and quickly assured her that he'd come back just as he did last time. Only he had to also promise that he wouldn't take another three years as he had the last time. If he hadn't, she probably would have clocked him with a bat herself just to get her point across.

However, his assurance had been enough and she had sent him on her way with a gleeful laugh, even as one of her contacts picked up on the phone and she began to chat with him. As Yusuke left the apartment, he distinctly heard a few phrases that involved "gang," "twisting her arm," and "calling in a favor." Yeah, he was definitely glad he hadn't stayed long enough to hear how his mother might handle getting his money from Alana, sometimes he swore that woman he called Ma' was far more terrifying than Keiko.

That's how Yusuke found himself standing outside his best friend's house instead of his girlfriends. Honestly, he was terrified of searching her down to inform her of the news and was holding it off until the very last. At least, with Kuwabara, he had a chance of survival. With a snort he backtracked, of course he had a chance of survival, since when was Kuwabara ever a threat to him? With that well-deserved boost, he walked himself to the front door and prepared to knock.

Only, the door opened before he could even touch it and a familiar head of blue hair almost rammed right into him in their rush to get out the door. A bag fell to the floor and wide, red eyes stared at him in surprise before Yukina, the Ice Maiden resident of the Kuwabara household promptly began issuing out apologies for her almost run-in.

"I'm so sorry about that, Yusuke! I should have looked to make sure no one as at the door!" She exclaimed, bowing as she spoke. It had been a few years since Kuwabara's own father had accepted the sweet demon girl to live with them and though she had picked up a few human customs –such as no longer wearing kimonos anymore- she still seemed to think she had to apologize for everything she may have accidentally done.

He grinned reassuringly at her and shook his head, "No harm done, Yukina. You goin' somewhere?" He motioned to the bag that she was fumbling with, as it was full to bursting with what looked to be clothes and bandages. Just where was she planning on going?

"Oh! Well, I was going… to the compound." She replied nervously, "Ever since Shizuru started taking care of it now that Genkai's gone, she sometimes needs help with the new tenants on the weekends…"

He ignored the pang in his heart at the mention of his mentor and stepped aside for her. "I hear ya'. You best go before you miss the train. Is Kuwabara here?"

"Oh- yes! Kazuma is upstairs; he was spouting off how he would wait for me to return as a flower bud awaits the dawn. He can be so funny sometimes."

Yusuke's grin froze and he suddenly seemed sheepish, "Err- yeah… funny guy." Seriously, how cheesy could you get? He was always amazed by the things that came out of his friend's mouth when it came to the Ice Maiden, but it was a little sad that the girl still didn't seem to get the advances after so many years. He half wondered if she only pretended not to understand what he was talking about. "Anyway, I'll let myself in. You take care of yourself now, ya' hear?

"Don't worry, I will!" She replied as he let her walk around him and off to the train station. He let himself in quickly and made his way up to Kuwabara's room.

The house hadn't changed much through the years, except for the room that the eldest Kuwabara sibling had once frequented was now used as a guest bedroom. The ever calm, level headed Shizuru had taken over Genkai's shrine just a year ago, to make sure that the demons allowed to stay there didn't trash the place. As a consequence, the house seemed to become that much emptier, but Yusuke knew Kuwabara didn't mind it so much with Yukina living with then. He'd been after the girl for years, but nothing had come of it yet. Yusuke wasn't sure if his friend was just that hopeful or just that stubborn- or if he was missing something between the two entirely, but they seemed to make their friendship work despite that. Entering his one rival, now best friend's room, he wasn't surprised to see it covered in text books from the University Kuwabara had recently gained acceptance into. That had been another small change through the years, the stupid punk's new ability to actual study and make something out of himself.

There was a small part of Yusuke that envied that about him, but at the moment, it was hard to recall that jealous when he walked in to find Kuwabara curled up on his bed with his cat, murmuring sweet nothings and brief, dramatic dribbles about his love running out on him.

"Eikichi, she didn't even ask me to come with her this time! What if she doesn't need me anymore- man this stinks! My lovely maiden of the snow can't stop needing me!... at least I know you'll never tire of me, right Eikichi."

It took everything Yusuke had to not vomit on the floor and to make his presence known; he made his own dramatic show of holding in his stomach as he stumbled through the doorway. "Oh god! The horror! I can't handle this. Kuwabara, there are things other guys just don't want to hear coming out of your mouth, how pathetic can you get? My insides are dying!"

The brief play of drama was amusing enough as it sent the overly tall university student flying off his bed in a panic that sent his cat hissing and running off in the opposite direction.

"Urameshi! Whatever happened to knocking, you damned punk?"

"Oh I don't know whatever happened to guys being manly and not mooning about their love life to their cat?"

"Shut up before I make you."

Yusuke's returning grin to this challenge was almost predatory. "I'd like to see you try," He would have cracked his knuckles for emphasis, but the small amount of maturity he had gained through the past two years grabbed hold of him by the ear and made him say instead, "- but later, I'm actually here for a reason that does not involve bashing your face in." What was the world coming to when Yusuke Urameshi didn't welcome a fight right when he was given an opening?

Kuwabara apparently wondered the same thing as his face screwed up into one of confused wonder and he grumbled out, "you sick or somethin'?"

He waved his hand and looked out the window, "Nothing like that, I just have a few favors I need to ask you." As an afterthought, he added, "that and if anything, I'll end up a murder victim come tomorrow thanks to Keiko."

"Jeez, what did you do now?"

"Something that's going to piss you off almost as much as she's going to be," He hedged, already knowing that the rest of this conversation wasn't going to go well. Before Kuwabara could ask him anymore questions, he fixed him with a hard stare and continued, "Just listen- I need you to do a couple favors for me and one of them might take up most of your summer before your University starts, think you can handle?"

Kuwabara set himself up on his floor and gave Yusuke his own serious stare. "What kinda' favor are we talking about, Urameshi?"

Well, Yusuke figured, no better way to get this over with than to just jump right in. "First, I need you to give me the address to the office building Kurama works at. Second, I need you to handle the Ramen Stall for me and keep an ear out for anything weird for the next few months."

"Oh- well that doesn't seem too bad, you were makin' me think you were going back to the demon world or something, why do you need me watch your stall? Did something happen?"

"….actually I am going to the Demon World again."

"Say WHAT?!" And here we go…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Beta this chapter. Apologies for all grammar errors and for the late update.

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued...


End file.
